1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a precision guide assembly for precisely guiding components into the desired alignment.
2. Description of Related Art
It is often necessary to insert a guide pin into the passage of a receptacle. If the cross section of passage is considerably larger than the guide pin, this insertion task is quite easy. However, for applications requiring precision alignment, the clearance between the passage of the receptacle and the guide pin may be very small, and this makes the insertion task much more difficult. The insertion task is further encumbered if it must be accomplished blindly, i.e., without looking at the receptacle and the guide pin.
The need for precision alignment occurs in many different environments. For example, in the case of an optical connector, it may be necessary to accurately align a light conductor carried by the guide pin with a light conductor carried by the receptacle. Similarly, alignment tasks of this sort may also occur for electrical connectors, pneumatic connectors, liquid connectors and in various machine shop applications, such as in certain die sets.
Conventional techniques used to assist insertion of a guide pin into the passage of a receptacle typically include enlarging the region of the passage adjacent the opening. This enlarging of the passage may be obtained, for example, with a chamfer or relatively large radius. Enlarging the opening of the passage can make it easier to get the distal tip of the guide pin into the opening of the passage. However, this does not align the axis of the guide pin with the axis of the passage of the receptacle, and accordingly, full insertion of the guide pin into the passage of the receptacle is not facilitated with this technique.